Early Childhood Care and Education
Dail Éireann — 2021-09-15
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Roderic O'Gorman (GP), Dublin West

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. It is a key priority for me as the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to improve the affordability, accessibility and quality of early learning and care, ELC, and school age childcare, SAC. Historically, there have been low levels of investment in ELC and SAC in this country, although in the past five years we have seen a 141% increase in investment. That stands now at €638 million per year. This increase has funded a second year of the early childhood care and education, ECCE, preschool programme, an access and inclusion model, AIM, and enabled the introduction of the national childcare scheme, NCS.
The draft guiding principles developed by the expert group states:
The funding model should be based on an acceptance that ELC/SAC is a public good... It should seek to support the delivery of this public value through the provision of high quality, affordable, accessible, and sustainable ELC and SAC services.
It also states that the funding model should make best use of the available public management tools. I expect this principle will inform the report of the group.
Last December, working in partnership with SIPTU and Childhood Services Ireland-IBEC, I began a short process investigating the potential of a joint labour committee for the sector and how it might support a better wage rate. We engaged Dr. Kevin Duffy, former chair of the Labour Court, to chair the process. Following that, I wrote to the Minister of State, Deputy English, and he has since signed an establishment order for a JLC for the early years sector. I regard this as an extremely significant and welcome development. I know it has been welcomed by both employers and workers in the sector.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-09-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-09-15